On Our Way to Grand Marais

8/16/2019

Rain overnight and this morning, made for good sleeping, so we took it slow and let the weather move north.  The plan is to end this fun detour and rejoin the Lake Superior Circle Route.

Since the International Wolf Center admission allowed for three days of visits, we stopped in Ely and said goodbye to the wolves. One of the two arctic brothers posed for us on top of the rocks. Leaving the center at 1100 we passed lots of canoe liveries on the way out of town. Ely would be a good place to rent a canoe in case you, like us, don't have room for one in your RV.

From there we retraced our steps by driving route 1 back to Lake Superior.

By lunch time we were back at the lake and stopped to visit Sugarloaf Cove. A $5 entry fee supported the nature preserve, a small visitors center,  and provided access to several hiking trails.

From 1943 to 1971 the cove was used for staging wood for rafting. Rafts consisting of thousands of logs were towed sixty-two miles across the lake to pulp mills in Ashland, Wisconsin.

Now a protected nature reserve, the cobblestone beach of Sugarloaf Cove was a pretty spot to warm-up and gaze out across the big lake.

At 1403, Taconite Harbor was our next stop. Here, taconite was turned into iron pellets and loaded on ships bound for smelters in Michigan, Mexico and China. 

The Edmund Fitzgerald was hauling taconite pellets when it sank in a November storm near Whitefish Point in Lake Superior.

Not much farther north, we pulled in for a visit at the Cross River Heritage Center.

Exhibits told the story of residents and local industry. Logging was a major employer in the area, so this collection of unique chain saws was on display.

Another reason to stop here is the easily accessible Cross River Falls. The river passes right under highway 61 and stairs lead down to a path offering this view.

Continuing north our next stop was at Temperance River State Park for a walk to another beautiful set of waterfalls.

We worked our way to Grand Marais City Campground, our destination for the weekend. Our site is not in view of the lake, but it’s only a few rows away and within walking distance to town. The 300 site campground is full, crowded, and the most expensive place we have stayed so far this summer. It’s all about location.

And the location is worth a visit. Here's the view of the harbor and coast guard station from the campground.

Wooden lights on a long breakwater mark the harbor entrance.

The campground shares facilities with a small craft harbor.

Folks and their animals were enjoying the protected waters of Grand Marais Harbor.

A town park inlay orients visitors to our position on Lake Superior.

A short walk into town lead to a spot that we might have to visit in the morning. This sounded like a claim worth testing.

Walking out to the coast guard station, we could see the big lake take on the colors of sunset.

Neighboring our campground, a folklife center offered classes in building traditional structures with logs and sod roofs.

Wooden boat building classes were also on the menu.

A small wooden two masted schooner lay at anchor just offshore. 

Sunset had us reminiscing about our years of sailing. It would have been a long adventure, from North Carolina to Grand Marais, by water at five knots.

We look forward to exploring more of Grand Marais this weekend.

Today's motoring route shows the return from Soudan to the Superior Circle.